Two area football standouts commit to Elon

Published: Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 12:35 AM.

In the course of three nights last week, a couple of area football players made verbal commitments that will keep them close to home for college.

WilliamsHigh School’s Tereak McCray committed to Elon on Wednesday night. After congratulating McCray on Twitter that night, Eastern Alamance’s Malcolm Summers made his pledge to Elon on Friday night.

“I asked him the reason why he committed. I didn’t plan on committing before the week,” Summers said, citing his intention to commit the week of the Eagles’ season opener. “I talked to Tereak for a while, he said he really enjoyed it.”

For McCray, the arrival of new coach Rich Skrosky and contact with his staff meant the difference.

“They’ve already had great contact with me. It seems like if I go there, it’ll be something great,” McCray said. “I went to visit Elon for their spring game, and after their spring game Coach Skrosky offered me a scholarship.”

McCray attended a camp at Elon from Monday to Wednesday morning last week, and needed only a few hours after returning home to make the commitment. He said the campwas the final selling point.

McCray has been a Times-News All-Region selection each of the past two years as a defensive back, but has lined up all over the field for the Bulldogs. He has spent time at receiver, quarterback and cornerback and rarely has left the field in his time at Williams.

At Elon, the 5-foot-9, 155-pound McCray will be a receiver.

“He was … willing to consider playing defensive back, but he really wanted to play receiver,” Williams coach David Green said. “He’s got a good relationship with the coaches at Elon, they’ve paid a lot of attention to him for a while now.”

Summers said he had started to feel some anxiety about picking his destination.

“I was just stressed out a lot. All the colleges wanted me to pick, and they were pressuring me a little bit,” Summers said. “It was a good kind of pressure, to know that all the colleges want you.”

So the Eastern Alamance running back decided to pick Elon, which stood out to Summers for its similar qualities to Eastern Alamance.

“The main reason is because it resembles Eastern all around. Similar systems, Coach Skrosky treats you well, but he’ll get on you,” Summers said. “Everybody wants to say, ‘It’s just Elon.’ No ‘It’s just Elon,’ it takes hard work to get into that school.

“I’ve visited a couple times and I felt comfortable around there.”

Summers was a Times-News All-Region selection last season after a breakout campaign that saw him pile up 30 touchdowns and nearly 2,500 all-purpose yards. The majority of that damage came on the ground, although Summers’ skill set makes him a receiving threat. He also had more than 800 yards combined on kickoff and punt returns.

Summers was a recruiting target of Skrosky last season, when Skrosky was offensive coordinator at BallState under former Elon coach Pete Lembo.

“I think CoachSkrosky and those guys are going to make an effort to get some local guys. I think he’ll do a great job and we’ll get to see him play,” EasternAlamance coach John Kirby said. “Malcolm kind of did the big ACC tour this summer, going to various camps. There’s still some interest there in him, but this seems to be the year of the running back in North Carolina.

“I think that Malcolm is as good and as talented as anybody we’ve ever had.”

McCray and Summers said the early decisions will alleviate some pressure heading into the upcoming season.

“It’s a relief just to know that I’m going to be able to play college football,” McCray said.

Summers added that “it puts pressure on because it’s time to show what you can do.”

But he won’t be bothered by that, he said.

“I’m not worried about college right now, it’s time to focus on high school,” Summers said. “I’m an Eagle right now. After that, then I can focus on being a Phoenix.”

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In the course of three nights last week, a couple of area football players made verbal commitments that will keep them close to home for college.

WilliamsHigh School’s Tereak McCray committed to Elon on Wednesday night. After congratulating McCray on Twitter that night, Eastern Alamance’s Malcolm Summers made his pledge to Elon on Friday night.

“I asked him the reason why he committed. I didn’t plan on committing before the week,” Summers said, citing his intention to commit the week of the Eagles’ season opener. “I talked to Tereak for a while, he said he really enjoyed it.”

For McCray, the arrival of new coach Rich Skrosky and contact with his staff meant the difference.

“They’ve already had great contact with me. It seems like if I go there, it’ll be something great,” McCray said. “I went to visit Elon for their spring game, and after their spring game Coach Skrosky offered me a scholarship.”

McCray attended a camp at Elon from Monday to Wednesday morning last week, and needed only a few hours after returning home to make the commitment. He said the campwas the final selling point.

McCray has been a Times-News All-Region selection each of the past two years as a defensive back, but has lined up all over the field for the Bulldogs. He has spent time at receiver, quarterback and cornerback and rarely has left the field in his time at Williams.

At Elon, the 5-foot-9, 155-pound McCray will be a receiver.

“He was … willing to consider playing defensive back, but he really wanted to play receiver,” Williams coach David Green said. “He’s got a good relationship with the coaches at Elon, they’ve paid a lot of attention to him for a while now.”

Summers said he had started to feel some anxiety about picking his destination.

“I was just stressed out a lot. All the colleges wanted me to pick, and they were pressuring me a little bit,” Summers said. “It was a good kind of pressure, to know that all the colleges want you.”

So the Eastern Alamance running back decided to pick Elon, which stood out to Summers for its similar qualities to Eastern Alamance.

“The main reason is because it resembles Eastern all around. Similar systems, Coach Skrosky treats you well, but he’ll get on you,” Summers said. “Everybody wants to say, ‘It’s just Elon.’ No ‘It’s just Elon,’ it takes hard work to get into that school.

“I’ve visited a couple times and I felt comfortable around there.”

Summers was a Times-News All-Region selection last season after a breakout campaign that saw him pile up 30 touchdowns and nearly 2,500 all-purpose yards. The majority of that damage came on the ground, although Summers’ skill set makes him a receiving threat. He also had more than 800 yards combined on kickoff and punt returns.

Summers was a recruiting target of Skrosky last season, when Skrosky was offensive coordinator at BallState under former Elon coach Pete Lembo.

“I think CoachSkrosky and those guys are going to make an effort to get some local guys. I think he’ll do a great job and we’ll get to see him play,” EasternAlamance coach John Kirby said. “Malcolm kind of did the big ACC tour this summer, going to various camps. There’s still some interest there in him, but this seems to be the year of the running back in North Carolina.

“I think that Malcolm is as good and as talented as anybody we’ve ever had.”

McCray and Summers said the early decisions will alleviate some pressure heading into the upcoming season.

“It’s a relief just to know that I’m going to be able to play college football,” McCray said.

Summers added that “it puts pressure on because it’s time to show what you can do.”

But he won’t be bothered by that, he said.

“I’m not worried about college right now, it’s time to focus on high school,” Summers said. “I’m an Eagle right now. After that, then I can focus on being a Phoenix.”